Great Book!

Just finished reading Sara Raasch's SNOW LIKE ASHES (out 10/14) and am nearly dead from the amazingness that it was for me. I haven't read a book like that in a while. The ending? Epic. Be sure to check it out come October!

Top 6 Books Of 2013

I read a lot. 

A LOT.

Like you, I'm sure. So, instead of writing a blog post on the books I read in 2013, I decided to write one featuring my top 6 reads of 2013. That I can remember. 2013 was a good year for books, and it looks like 2014 will be even better. So, here you go. In no order at all.

1) Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano - These chapter introductions were literally the most beautiful

words I read in 2013. I loved them, and the lyrical writing throughout this book.

2) The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton - One of my very favorite writers. The writing was lush and gorgeous and I really loved the new ideas behind the story. I also loved that the novel is more a book of stories that are not said rather than those that are.

3) Just Between Us by J.H. Trumble - A story that needed to be written. Romantic and scary. I truly loved every word in this book, and eventually found myself in awe of the hope Trumble created throughout.

4) Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas - Honestly, I ate this book like I ate Harry Potter. Enough said.

5) The Book Theif by Markus Zusak - The story. The pictures. The words. I wasn't sure if I would like this one when I started it, but when I finished it a few days later I didn't want to leave. This is a story that stays with you, and I cried.

6) Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry - A book about zombies taught me what it means to be human. That alone is an amazing thing, but I also loved the story and the world Maberry created in this book. The entire series is excellent, but this first one is my favorite. Also, the ending of Dust & Decay, the second book in the series, killed me.

 There you go! What were your favorite reads of 2013? What books are you looking forward to in 2014? I can't wait to read Andrew Smith's Grasshopper Jungle! Also, Ignite Me. 

Awesome "Halloween" Reads

Since I'm always looking for books to read this time of year, I thought it would be cool if I picked some "Halloween" books to share with you on the blog. These are books that are not exactly about Halloween, but have the feel of this time of year. Fall. Leaves. Cold. Dark. Mystery. Those kind of books. 

1) The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

I really loved this dark, creepy story about vampires. While there is romance in this book, these vampires hunt like crazy. They're vicious and dangerous and I loved that. Amazingly written. 

2) Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey

This book is dark and light, serious and funny. And I loved it. It's refreshingly told, and the characters are very real. Since this book deals with dark magic in a small town where strange things happen, it's a perfect, creepy and mysterious read for this time of year.

3) The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

So. Good. This is a darker read about dark things. Mystery. Suspense. Love. Magic. I love every single page and was so glad it was the first of a trilogy. A truly wonderful book for the Halloween season.

4) Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

A perfect Autumn read. If the cover doesn't capture you, get glasses. This book is amazing, like a song. Stiefvater's writing is flawless and gorgeous, and the story itself will hook you. I swear I could feel the leaves burning.

Books I NEED Now!

Some new books coming out soonish I want NEED as soon as possible! 

Any books that you're excited for?

Okay. And I know Sinner doesn't have a cover yet BUT COME ON I WANT IT. So good.

5 Favorite Books

Neil Gaiman said that picking his five favorite books would be a lot like "picking the five body parts you'd most like not to lose." Well. I'm about to do that. So get ready. These are my five favorite books RIGHT NOW. Today. Because these books are not my favorite ones from yesterday, and they probably won't be my favorites tomorrow. But, that's the beauty of having read so many wonderful books - a lot of favorites come from the different moods we find ourselves in each day. 

1. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
I love this book. Beautifully written and told and everything.

2. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
I'm currently reading this again and am loving it even more than the first time. So beautifully told - straight forward but detailed. There are different kinds of beauty here.

3. The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton
A very lyrical and different book. I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would, which I thought would be a lot. Unlike anything out there.

4. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
Epic. Only Bray can make political statements while supporting everyone - have incredibly real characters while shooting down most stereotypes all while including a message. Awesome.

5. Ironside by Holly Black
I love dark stories and this story is DARK. And lyrically told. I loved it.

Be sure to check out more recs and reads on facebook HERE (giveaway soon).

The Perfect Paragraph

I've begun reading The Casual Vacancy, and in doing so I've realized a few things. 

1) The Casual Vacancy is a novel constructed by a story best read between the lines. Often, Rowling doesn't write what she means, rather what she doesn't. She hints, creates this puzzle for the reader to figure out, and I really enjoy that. Taking this approach at face value, it gives the reader freedom to process the novel in a thousand different ways. As a writer, it's wonderful to see an author have the skills to actually be in complete control of her words.

2) The Casual Vacancy is more of a character study than anything. The plot, for so many reasons, is the characters. And the characters are the plot. 

3) I went into this novel with the idea that I would be reading it for the gorgeous writing. Writing, in fact, was my one expectation. The rest was this: I wanted the story to find me, not the other way around. And that, for me, was the perfect approach because when I came across a paragraph on page 36 of The Casual Vacancy, my mind exploded and I smiled.

"Pagford was as lovely as ever this morning, and Howard knew a sublime moment of exultation in the existence, both of himself, and of the town to which he belonged, as he saw it, like a pulsing heart. He was here to drink it all in - the glossy black benches, the red and purple flowers, the sunlight gilding the top of the stone cross - and Barry Fairbrother was gone. It was difficult not to sense a greater design in this sudden rearrangement of what Howard saw as the battlefield across which he and Barry had faced each other for so long."

In this paragraph, Rowling has established the "main" plot of the story - the casual vacancy - and how it creates a kind of war zone for the town. She painted the town ideal and beautiful, while also conveying how the book itself is a black, dramatic comedy* of sorts. She tells the reader how most of the characters see the town, and how the reader should through their eyes - but she also underlines this idea that the town is not what it seems, and so the character should not be either. Also, she establishes the absurdity of this novel itself - the "greater design" - almost admitting that the design of the novel is there if you look for it like a promise, but not easy to spot - again, admitting that most of the plot is within the characters and setting. The town is perfect, but the characters are not. But then again, if the characters are the ones who see and make and create the town, can the town be perfect or is it just perception? Perhaps this is a novel of perception rather than plot. 

Anyway. I love this paragraph so much. I think it is damn near perfect, and conveys the scope of the story perfectly. I'm enjoying The Casual Vacancy, the writing. I have not read any actual reviews of this book, only looked at star ratings, so I'm not sure the specifics of the story - and I wanted it that way when I started this. From the clues Rowling has dropped, this character study seems to be a social commentary on many things, love included - and I'm curious to see how things like religion, state, and family play out. I'll be sure to keep my thoughts on the blog or on facebook.

* "comedy" here means, in my mind, a kind of overly dramatic tale of the extreme and absurd. Not exactly funny, just outlandish.